The Dutch Central Bank fined OKX $2.6 million for operating without a license
Date: 2025-09-04 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: BUSINESS
The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) announced a fine of $2.6 million for the OKX crypto exchange. The reason was that the platform provided services to local users without the required registration, which is considered a serious violation of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
According to DNB representatives, the lack of a license allowed OKX to reduce costs and not pay mandatory fees, which gave the company an unjustified competitive advantage over other operators officially registered in the country. The regulator noted that all crypto market participants are required to comply with the requirements established five years ago.
It is noted that the imposed fine was minimal among the sanctions that were previously imposed on leading crypto exchanges operating in the Netherlands. Despite the violation, the situation has already been resolved: OKX has transferred all clients from the Netherlands to its European platform, which complies with EU rules under the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.
This case is a continuation of the tightening of supervision of the crypto market in the Netherlands. Earlier this year, a court in The Hague ordered the world's largest exchange Binance to disclose the details of an account holder suspected of fraudulent transactions in the amount of 186,000 euros (about $199,296). The court's decision emphasizes that local authorities and financial institutions are seeking to increase the transparency of transactions with digital assets and limit illegal schemes.
Experts believe that the measures taken by DNB reflect a general trend in Europe towards unification of rules for crypto exchanges. The introduction of MiCA, which will become a single standard for EU countries, should reduce the likelihood of such situations and ensure a level playing field for all market participants.
The OKX fine thus sent a signal to other industry players: operating without an official license in the Netherlands and other EU countries will no longer go unpunished. At the same time, this case shows that crypto exchanges are forced to adapt to new rules if they want to maintain access to the European market.
